An ice maker IM shown in FIG. 1 is designed to make ice I, and such an ice maker IM is provided in a water purifier, a refrigerator, or the like.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the ice maker IM includes an evaporator E in which cold refrigerant or a hot refrigerant flows in a refrigerating cycle (not shown). Also, a plurality of dipping members D are connected to the evaporator E, and a cold refrigerant or a hot refrigerant may flow in the dipping members D. A tray member T is also provided in the ice maker IM. Water is maintained in the tray member T, and the plurality of dipping members D are immersed in water in the tray member T. Accordingly, with the plurality of dipping members D immersed in the tray member T, when a cold refrigerant flows in the dipping members D, ice I is generated on the dipping members D. After ice I is generated on the dipping members D, when a hot refrigerant flows in the dipping members D, the ice I generated on the dipping members D is separated from the dipping members D. Namely, the ice I is released.
Recently, demand for highly transparent ice is increasing. To this end, in order to make highly transparent ice, an ice making method for making highly transparent ice by using an ultrasonic generator, and the like, is used.
In order to make highly transparent ice, a gyration member C provided to gyrate periodically in the tray member T as shown in FIG. 1 may be used. With water in the tray member T, when the gyration member C periodically gyrates, waves are generated in the water in the tray member T, and accordingly, a bubble layer cannot be grown in ice I when the ice I is generated on the dipping members D. Thus, highly transparent ice I can be generated on the dipping members D.
Besides the generation of the highly transparent ice I, the gyration member C may also be used to detect whether or not the formation of ice I generated on the dipping members D has reached an intended level along with a sensor S in order to determine a point in time at which the ice I is to be released.
Meanwhile, the ice maker IM may make ice I for generating cold water, as well as the ice I to be supplied to a user. Namely, the ice maker IM may make ice I to be supplied to a cold water tank (not shown) so as to cool water stored in the cold water tank and make or generate cold water.
In the related art ice making method, the ice I for generating cold water is also made to have a high level of transparency, like the ice I to be supplied to the user. This causes a problem in which the number of gyrations of the gyration member C is accordingly increased. Besides, as mentioned above, the gyration member C is required to gyrate periodically to detect whether or not the formation of ice has reached the intended level in order to determine a point in time at which the ice I is to be released. As a result, the number of gyrations of the gyration member C increases significantly.
When the number of gyrations of the gyration member C increases, a large load may be applied to the gyration member C or to a magnetic force generation member Me such as an electromagnet, or the like, used to drive the gyration member C, or the sensor S used to detect whether or not the formation of ice has reached the intended level in order to determine a point in time at which the ice I is to be released. Then, the durability of the configuration of the gyration member C, the sensor S, or the like, deteriorates and cannot be used for a long period of time.